Superb WW2 Night Fighter’s DFC and Bar (Immediate) Medal Group of Five – Squadron Leader R. A. W. ‘Scottie’ Scott, Royal Air Force

A superb second world war DFC and Bar medal group awarded to Squadron Leader R. A. W. ‘Scottie’ Scott, Royal Air Force, a veteran of three operational tours as Navigator and Radio Operator, he amassed a total of 84 sorties and assisted in the destruction of four enemy aircraft, in addition to the damage of three others

Honing his skills in Havocs of 1459 Turbinlite Flight in 1941 – under the watchful eye of Squadron Leader J. B. Nicholson, V.C. – he gained the unit’s first ‘Turbinlite victory’ in April 1942, when, with Flight Lieutenant ‘Winnie’ Winn at the helm and the close co-operation of a ‘parasite’ Hurricane pilot from No. 253 Squadron, a Heinkel 111 was shot down in flames

Scott and Winn went on to forge a highly successful partnership over two further operational tours with No. 141 Squadron, flying a host of Serrate missions over France, Holland and Germany in the unit’s Beaufighters

Latterly, as the net closed in, and by then equipped with Mosquitos, the intrepid duo secured a notable ‘first’ in R.A.F. history, for they undertook three low-level ‘firebash’ sorties against enemy airfields: the resultant devastation caused by the 700 ft. delivery of their 100-gallon tanks – chock full of ‘Napalm gel’ – was sensational

Distinguished Flying Cross with Second Award Bar the reverse of the Cross officially dated ‘1943’ and the reverse of the Bar ‘1945’
1939-45 Star unnamed as issued 
Air Crew Europe Star (Clasp – France and Germany) unnamed as issued 
WW2 Defence Medal unnamed as issued 
War Medal 1939-45 unnamed as issued 

D.F.C. London Gazette 2nd February 1943
The original recommendation states:
 ‘This officer has been engaged on night flying since August 1941, during which time he has completed 121 hours at night, as Navigator / Radio. On 28 April 1942, he brought Flight Lieutenant Beveridge into contact with a Do. 217, which was illuminated. The Hurricane satellite, however, failed to attack. On 30 April 1942, he was Navigator / Radio for Squadron Leader Winn, D.F.C., when an He. 111 was destroyed, and again, on 27 July 1942, when a Do. 217 was claimed as probably destroyed. On 29 July 1942, he was Navigator for Flight Lieutenant Beveridge, when a Do. 217 was claimed as damaged. He has been outstanding for his keenness and unflagging desire to take off against the enemy, especially under adverse weather conditions.’

Bar to D.F.C. London Gazette 3rd July 1945
The original recommendation – for an immediate award – states:
 ‘On 18 April 1945, Flight Lieutenant Scott was Navigator / Radio in the aircraft which led a very successful low-level ‘fire-bomb’ attack on Munich/Neubiberg airfield. Despite intense and accurate flak, his pilot, Wing Commander Winn, D.F.C., was able to claim an enemy aircraft destroyed on the ground. The enemy hangars and other buildings were set ablaze and also raked with cannon fire.

 This sortie was typical of others in which Flight Lieutenant Scott has participated recently, and all have been carried out with marked success.

 This officer has flown as Navigator / Radio to Wing Commander Winn, D.F.C., since June 1941 and throughout a very long spell of operational flying he has displayed the same courage and determination as his pilot. He has assisted in the destruction of four enemy aircraft, and damage to three others. In addition, he has navigated his pilot to a safe landing on more than one occasion when their aircraft has been damaged over enemy territory.

 In recognition of his skill and devotion to duty, and his splendid record of achievement throughout three tours of operations, I recommend Flight Lieutenant Scott for the immediate award of a Bar to the Distinguished Flying Cross.’

Ray Amherst Winckworth Scott was born in Sutton, Surrey on 13 February 1911 and was educated at Sutton Preparatory School and Ardingly College, near Haywards Heath in Sussex; he rose to the dizzy heights of Lance-Corporal in the O.T.C. at the latter establishment.

Having then embarked on a career as a clerk on the Stock Exchange – and married Lilian Agnes Ball in February 1934 – Scott tired of life in the City and decided to join the Royal Air Force. He enlisted in October 1938 and, by the renewal of hostilities in the following year, was serving as an A.C. 2 (Electrician) in No. 2 Wing at Henlow. He subsequently served on the strength of No. 604 Squadron during the Battle of Britain and was advanced to Leading Aircraftsman in December 1940. Shortly thereafter, he volunteered for aircrew duties and was trained as an Observer / Radio Operator at R.A.F. Prestwick.

Having then gained flight experience at an O.T.U. in August 1941, Scott joined, as a recently promoted Sergeant, 1459 Turbinlite Flight at Hibaldstow. The unit had just been formed under Squadron Leader J. B. Nicholson, V.C., and was tasked with working up newly delivered Douglas-Havocs for a night fighter role. By way of introduction, the Battle of Britain hero took Scott up in one of them on the very day of his arrival.

The Douglas-Havoc – a night fighter variant of the Boston – had been greeted with some optimism, though as described by Peter Townsend in Duel in the Dark, it did not live up to expectations, the replacement of the nose compartment with heavy radar equipment and a dozen machine-guns causing the aircraft to be slow and tricky to handle.

The Turbinlite version, in which Scott flew, had a searchlight fitted in place of the nose compartment, the intention being to illuminate the target for a ‘parasite’ to finish it off; normally an accompanying Hurricane. As it transpired, the searchlight alerted the target before the ‘parasite’ could engage it and often dazzled the accompanying Hurricane pilot.

As related by Peter Townsend, the Havoc had further issues:

‘The tips of the propeller blades whirled round within a few inches of the pilot’s ears. Climbing into an aeroplane cockpit was one thing; getting out – in a hurry – was quite another problem. I did not fancy the prospect of baling out of a Havoc.’

Notwithstanding such shortcomings, Scott teamed-up with Sergeant Beveridge as his pilot, and they commenced a spate of 20 or so hazardous night fighter sorties in the period leading up to the year’s end.

Commissioned in December 1941, Scott started to undertake the occasional outing with Flight Lieutenant C. V. ‘Winnie’ Winn as his pilot, the pair of them locking-on to a Dornier 17 on the night of 28 April 1942. It bolted, ‘taking violent evasive action.’

On the night of 30 April 1942, with Flight Lieutenant D. S. Yapp acting as their ‘parasite’ in a Hurricane of No. 253 Squadron, Scott and Winn gained the first ever ‘Turbinlite victory’, the reason for their success being a prior agreement not to illuminate their searchlight. Scott picked up their victim – a Heinkel 111 – at 10,000 feet north-west of Flamborough Head and Winn pursued it to a range of 500 feet before sending a ‘Warn’ signal to Yapp. The latter engaged the He. 111 all the way down to sea-level, a large glow lighting up the clouds as it hit the drink.

May and June witnessed further ‘Scrambles’ and patrols, all to no avail, but in July – on the 27th – Scott and Winn claimed their second victim, a Dornier 217, this time with Flight Lieutenant John Ellacombe acting as their ‘parasite’ in a Hurricane. The combat lasted several minutes, Ellacombe seeing the Dornier crash near the coast.

Just two nights later, this time with Flight Lieutenant Beveridge as his pilot, Scott latched-on to another Dornier 217 and their ‘parasite’ – Flight Sergeant McCarthy – damaged it with several visible strikes. Havoc and Hurricane were then illuminated by our own searchlights and engaged by A.A. fire, luckily inaccurate fire.

On the night of 11 August 1942, with Beveridge as pilot, Scott obtained a contact on another enemy aircraft. Their ‘parasite’, Sergeant Terence Pepper of 253 Squadron, set off in pursuit but nothing was ever heard from him again. He was 22.

In September, the Turbinlite Flight was reformed as No. 538 Squadron, but the new unit was disbanded in January 1943.

Scott, meanwhile, had been advanced to Flying Officer and appointed Navigation / Radio Leader of the Squadron. He was rested with a training post in No. 1422 Flight and awarded the D.F.C.

In April 1943, Scott returned to an operational footing, teaming-up with ‘Winnie’ Winn in Beaufighters of No. 141 Squadron. The unit was commanded by night fighter legend Wing Commander John Braham, D.S.O., D.F.C., a role which Winn would inherit in the fullness of time.

A few sorties having been flown to Holland in the interim, Scott and Winn claimed a Ju. 88 over Weert on the night of 21 June 1943:

‘At 0130 hours when over Weert at 15,000 feet, we saw a Ju. 88 600 feet away and 100 feet above, flying starboard to port. As he crossed, we turned into him and gave a 2 to 3 seconds burst of cannon and m.g., with 20 degrees deflection, closing from 400 feet to 200 feet. There were strikes all over the E/A’s portside and he peeled off to port with flames spreading as he went down in a vertical dive to explode as he struck the ground. There had been no return fire. We orbited for a while as the E./A. burnt, and then returned … ‘

Then in July – on the 17th – then intrepid duo fought a dogfight with a Fw. 190 and two other enemy aircraft. No claims were made but Scott noted in his flying log book: ‘Lots of twitch. I wonder if it will hurt much?’

Two uneventful bomber escort sorties having been flown to Hamburg at the month’s end, their next encounter with angry fire was of an unexpected nature. Retuning from Milan on 15 August, their Beaufighter was attacked by a Wellington, severe damage being inflicted on both engines and the undercarriage. Winn made an emergency landing at Ford in Sussex, but not before our own A.A. batteries had rubbed salt into the wound.

In August, assorted ‘contacts’ were made over Berlin and Stuttgart, one of their ensuing chases ending with A.A. damage being inflicted on their Beaufighter. And that sense of frustration – so well-known to night fighters – was to last to the year’s end, including an unsuccessful run-in with an enemy fighter over Hanover in October.

Scott was advanced to Flight Lieutenant in December 1943 and rested in the new year with an appointment at H.Q. 100 Group.

Scott and Winn were re-united for a third operational tour in June 1944, this time in Mosquitos of No. 141 Squadron; their brief was to track our bomber forces over Occupied Europe in search of enemy night fighters.

Inexperienced in their new aircraft type, they overshot a Me. 110 over France on the night preceding D-Day, but with the ensuing flurry of missions in support of the Normandy landings – and further afield – that shortcoming was quickly corrected.

In July 1944, the Squadron reverted to Serrate operations – locking on to enemy night fighter radar transmissions – and Scott and Winn gave ‘a long chase’ to an enemy fighter over Hamburg on 23rd, alas with no result. However, on the 28th, on returning from Stuttgart, they severely damaged a Ju. 88 over Troyes; strikes were seen on its wings and fuselage before it was lost in cloud.

By the end of the year, Scott and Winn had flown in excess of 20 sorties, mainly of the Serrate variety, sorties that included further dogfights over France and Germany. An exception to the rule was a daylight strike on an airfield on 17 September, when all six of 141’s Mosquitos returned to base with flak damage.

New year commenced with half a dozen bomber escort missions – thus trips to such targets as Cologne, Dortmund and Stuttgart – a period of activity which saw Scott and Winn engaged in another dogfight with a Fw. 190 on 22 February 1945.

It was about this time that Winn – who was now Squadron C.O. – met an officer of the 8th U.S.A.A.F., journeying back to West Raynham by train. The American told him about a new weapon called ‘Napalm Gel’, which was delivered in 100 gallon drop tanks with a phosphorous fuse.

And on the night of 14 April 1945, Scott and Winn led the R.A.F’s first Napalm raid, flying in one of five of 141’s Mosquitos to support a large raid on Potsdam. They attacked the night-fighter airfields at Neurippin, delivering their 100 gallon drop tanks from 800 feet. The resultant devastation was quick and spectacular, the airfield and hangars being engulfed in flames. For good measure, the Mosquitos then strafed the illuminated target three times. As Scott concluded in his flying log book, the use of Napalm was ‘a great success.’

Four nights later, on the 18th, Scott and Winn led another force of squadron aircraft to Neubiberg airfield, this time carrying two 100 gallon drop tanks apiece and dropping to 700 feet. Scott noted another ‘very successful raid, many buildings on fire’. Short of fuel, he and Winn landed at Mannheim. The net was closing.

Finally, on 2 May, they delivered another lethal cargo to Hohn airfield: ‘Dropped 2 x 100 gallon tanks of Napalm gel. Three huts set on fire but not a very concentrated attack. No flak.’

Scott was recommended for the award of an immediate Bar to his D.F.C. 

Post-war, he was granted an extended commission as a Flight Lieutenant in the General Duties Navigator Branch, in which capacity he was promoted to Squadron Leader in November 1947. Having then reverted to an administrative role, he was finally placed on the Retired List in November 1954. He died on 15 July 1987.

‘Winnie’ Winn also remained in the R.A.F. after the war, rising to the rank of Air Vice-Marshal and adding a C.B.E. to his wartime D.S.O. and D.F.C.

The group comes with a quantity of research and the following original documents and related items:

• Scott’s R.A.F. Observer’s and Air Gunner’s Flying Log Books (2), covering the periods June 1941 to March 1945, and March 1945 to January 1948, the former including the signatures of Nicholson, V.C.; bound as one volume.
• A unique – and important – survivor, in the form of 1459 Turbinlite Flight’s unofficial diary, covering the period 21 September 1941 to 30 September 1942, with a mass of handwritten entries which essentially cover the unit’s entire history; as removed by the recipient on its disbandment.
• Wartime photographs, including a portrait of the recipient and several group images.
• A Bomber Command Reunion Dinner Menu, Grosvenor Hotel, Park Lane, London, 2 May 1981, the front cover signed by Cheshire V.C., in addition to Norman Jackson and Bill Reid.
• A presentation pewter tankard, inscribed, ‘Scottie’ and ‘To a Great Friend and Excellent Navigator from Wing Cdr. C. V. Winn, D.S.O., D.F.C.’